Friday, November 30, 2012

Sugar Cookie Bars


Another delicious recipe from Mandy!!!  Enjoy!  I just made these for a social and they were a hit!

Grandma Holly's Sugar Cookie Bars

1 cup butter, room temp
8 oz. cream cheese, room temp
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg

Cream above ingredients. Add:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder

Spread in a greased jelly roll pan (cookie sheet).
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. DO NOT overbake, even if they don't look done!
***See my note at the bottom.***


Almond Frosting

2 lbs. powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
1-2 tsp. almond extract
5 oz. evaporated milk

Whip all ingredients until creamy. Spread on cooled cookies. Cut into bars.

***I used a big 12x17 jelly roll pan and I thought they were too thin, so the next time I used a 9x13 pan, doubled the baking time, and they came out great.****


Monday, November 12, 2012

California Rolls: A How To



Some of you have asked me how I make sushi. Here it is!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups sticky rice (you can find recipes for actual "sushi rice," but it is essentially rice with some sugar and white vinegar and I can't tell the difference)
  • 1 Cucumber 
  • 1/2 lb Crab (diced)
  • 1 Avocado 
  • Spicy Mayo (found in the asian food section of the grocery store)
  • Seaweed wraps (also found in the asian food section)


Directions:

  1. Slice the cucumber in thin strips length-wise. 
  2. Slice the avocado in medium strips. 
  3. Add a spoonful (or two) of spicy mayo to the diced crab and mix throughly.  



4. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with PAM before putting the seaweed wrap down. 
5. Pat down a layer of rice over the seaweed wrap, leaving about an inch at the top and bottom. 
6. Carefully flip the seaweed wrap over and place a stripe of cucumber, avocados, and crab lengthwise across the middle of the wrap. 


7. (This can be the tricky step) Gently use the plastic wrap at the bottom to fold the bottom of the seaweed wrap around the contents in the middle.When you are secure that no food is sliding or falling out, continue rolling the wrap all the way to the top (You might have to tuck the bottom of the wrap under the food in the middle to prevent food from sliding). The plastic wrap helps the layer of rice on the outside, as well as the whole roll, stick together.

8. Transfer wrap onto a cutting board and using a serrated knife, cut roll into 1 inch stripes, wiping off the knife with a wet paper towel in between slices.
9. (Optional: if you are wanting a spicy california roll, slightly melt some spicy mayo and drizzle it across the tops).

Voila! You've made a plate of eye candy.